105 comments:

very insightful from the first article. this makes me hope for McHale to return and work with jeremy long term.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had this much communication with a head coach,” Lin said. “He cares deeply for his players, and he goes out of his way to show that. Even while he was gone, he was texting me after every game and before games. I was like, ‘Wow.’ Obviously, you have your own situation, but the fact that you’re thinking about us shows a lot about who he is as a person.

“He gave me advice as I was going through what I was going through, which is nothing compared to what he is going through. This hurts for all of us.”

It kind of annoys me that people really care about all star voting now. Have you read the JLIN News stories? People are going to be that upset if he makes it into the all star game? They're going to be that upset because he has fans that support him? Lot of people get screwed every year, it's not my fault that they don't have fan support.

At this point, i'm voting everyday for his a.ss to be in the all star game because I want representation, I want Lin to represent someone like me. To provide hope that kids that look like Lin/me can make it in the NBA one day. Isn't that what all star weekend is about? Celebrating the NBA, talent/potential, and to inspire?

@neph, yeah I agree with you but it still doesn't change the fact that the media is terrible and pushing this agenda against Lin, even if they're not consciously aware that they're doing it.

People shouldn't be mad at Lin if he gets in, he didn't vote himself in. It's not his fault that he is liked by sooooooo many more people than lebron/kobe/cp3! If people are so concerned about voting, then they need to vote for the players they like instead of worrying about Lin getting into the all star game.

Truth is, I don't think Lin's getting in. Asians/fans know that he's not doing so well so, they're probably a little hesitant to vote for him for fear of backlash. Not me though, my a.ss is voting for Lin every day because I refuse to be silenced by idiot, media talking heads and the good ole' boys club of the nba.

It'll be ideal if JLin's shooting woes are over by the all-star break.If not...well, Stern specifically included Sina Weibo and Tencent QQ [China's FB and Twitter] for voting. What do people expect, really?

@via, lol I didn't know Stern included those sites. I've never heard of them, that's cool...hopefully they're voting for Lin too! I have a feeling they're probably voting for superstar guys like Kobe/LBJ/WADE/Melo. Aren't those the only guys fans ever hear about overseas?!

K.smith. I m on ur side all! Completely! Exactly everything u said! I think I vote it 3 times. Can u vote it everyday with the same account? This is fans thing. Other players or people whoever saying anything about it is just jealsous Lin got more fans. It is for fans to vote to see their favorite players!

Let them jealsou n be hatred! It bring no goods to their life！ and as a Lin fan, we all know whether he got the all star or not he still got all the hate from haters. So why care if it's not going to affect any change! Haters gonna always hate no matter what! Vote！

@lxy God, people are sensitive and take this stuff way too seriously. I understand where you're coming from but at the end of the day, it's a popularity contest. There's this thing called the MVP and DPOY, that's where talent and real voting goes, not the all star game.

Asians have a lot of pride and are full of shame, so if Lin isn't playing well, they won't be voting him in. I'm pretty certain he's not going to get voted into the all star game, i'm annoyed that so many people think he's a shoe in, when he's not. He's not from China/Taiwan/another country, he's an american born kid, and his home country is the united states...and last I checked, Lin's got a lot of haters here, so I doubt tons of people are voting him in.

Regardless, i'm still voting for him every day. Got d.amn I hope my wish comes true.

The whole world knows it's a popularity contest. There is no need to pretend that its purpose is that noble. NBA has it just to attract more fans (i.e. more money).

Actually, you can vote as many times as you wish every day (if you don't think it's too much trouble, just go to the browser's internet options, and delete browsing history after each vote, then you can vote again and again).

"Namely, there will be a backlash against Lin even worse than what he has to deal with now--from fans, the media, and most importantly, other NBA players themselves, even his teammates.Lin would be a considered a big joke and a fraud--a creation of media hype without the skills to back up his "popularity."

I guess standards are just different when it comes to JLin.Again, where's the outrage when these guys [Jamaal Magloire, Theo Ratliff, Dale Davis, Wally Szczerbiak, Tyrone Hill, Anthony Mason, Jameer Nelson, Luol Deng] were all-stars?

@via: I agree. I hate double standard. I hate it even more when Lin's fans put double standard on Lin and ourselves.

Why would you back down if you really support Lin? And when do you show your support? Isn't this the best opportunity? We can not and should not support him ONLY when he is shining, we should support him NO MATTER WHAT/WHEN.

First of all, people are clamoring about Lin starting over the likes of Chris Paul and Westbrook and Parker and other better pgs. I'm not sure if those guys you mentioned via are starters. Correct me if I'm wrong.

What were their stats when they got selected in the all-star? If they were not starters then they were handpicked by the coaches.

Jameer Nelson had a great season a few years ago. that was the time he got an all-star selection. Again, he was not voted by the fans bu by the coaches. he had a great season that year (2009 ) .

Luol Deng deserves to be an all-star last season. Not sure why you are questioning his selection.

I cannot speak for the others. I would like to see their stats during the year they were selected. If they were voted, then that is the issue. If they were picked by the coaches, I assume that they had the numbers to back up their selection.

The issue here is that Lin is STRUGGLING. He will not be selected by the coaches for sure.

Reserve: -Selected by the coaches, based on purely stats and performance on the court.

Starters:

-Selected by fans, some fans are objective while some are not, usually great players, like Yao, Lebron, Wade, Kobe and etc. who had the numbers to validate his selection,

This becomes the problem when Lin who is averaging 10 ppg, 6apg, 35%FG, 20+% 3pt, becomes the starter. Never had I've encountered a starter with an unimpressive stats. This problem can go away when Lin starts to play much better.

The Rockets called the return of D-Mo. I'm not sure if D-Mo can provide the spark that Morris gives. Also, not sure about his rebounding deficiencies. He's no better than Patterson.

The Rockets can handle the Raptors but expect them to be hungry for they have lost to quite a few close games. Their big men are soft rebounders so Asik might have another big double-double but not sure if he can guard the perimeter.

It will be interesting how Lin will play Lowry.

The next six games after the Raptors game will be very tough for the Rockets. They could end up losing all six if they do not improve at all. I still think that Parsons got lucky. Don't expect him to shoot 13/17 every night. Also, expect teams will play better interior and transition defense than the Knicks. So, Harden still needs to limit his contested jumpshots.

Lin needs to be more active off the ball. It would also help if he starts to take more floaters. He misses too many layups.

I don't think Lin's going to do much on offense against Lowry. I have a feeling he'll spend most of his energy on defense. I'm hoping to see some balance though. :)

The next 6 games after TOR are going to be tough and I agree that Parsons is NOT going to shoot 13/17 every game. It's really going to have to be a total team effort for them to have chance at winning any of those games.

I expect Lowry to outscore Lin for sure. He'll shoot more, and he's the primary ballhandler. What Lin can do is to Limit his production. Maybe make him purely as a scorer and not a distributor. Harden also needs to play better defense against DeroZan.

"Funny how 25 games is not a good sample size when you play amazing but 12 games is a good sample size when you're not"

LOL...so true. You said it, JLinFan#1.

Even in 12 "exposed" games, Jeremy's had some quality performances. 21pts/10rebs/7asts against a good Atlanta team. 11p/11r/6a/2b against Portland. 15p/5r/3s against a great defensive team in Memphis. 10 assists and only 3TOs against the Lakers.

He just needs time to adjust and get his legs full strength. By season's end, I expect Kyle Lowry type numbers. And by next season, he'll surpass that (i.e. more assists, more FTs).

Jeremy is surrounded by INCOMPETENT people. His shooting coach and now his Trainer Josh Fan.

Who the hell is this Josh Fan anyway? There is no excuse for Lin feeling tired this early without having a very high usage rate. Lin doesn't even get to expend so much energy on the offensive end. You have all summer long and his second rate trainer couldn't get Lin in tip top shape.

Lin better surround himself with better trainers and coaches. He now has the money. Please Jeremy, avoid getting close friends for professional reasons.

As has been written many times before, it takes a long time to recover from knee surgery. In reality, one can't just throw himself into hardcore conditioning after knee surgery and expect to be at pre surgery levels within a few months of that surgery. The human body just doesn't work that way, particularly in the NBA where Lin is facing the best basketball athletes in the world.

The Rockets are consciously avoidant of overpushing Lin and exposing him to injury because of his knee. After all, Lin took several brutal hits in preseason due to the double and triple teaming caused by opponents trying to knock out the Rockets' sole playmaker. Now that James Harden is around, the pressure has been removed from Lin and thus the Rockets are hoping that Lin can find his health and game without being physically brutalized into missing contests.

The Rockets strategy is WORKING: Lin has played in every game, has produced big in a few of them, has completely avoided injury, plays 30+ mins a night, and is steadily gaining ground.

I myself have issues with Jeremy Lin's jump shot, but he still has demonstrated that he can hit shots so I have no right to complain. That Lin is playing all these minutes and games is testimony to the GOOD job the Rockets trainers have done.

I take it to mean that he's been trying some "explosive plyometric" exercises so feeling fatigue after this exercise is normal and a good sign that his knee is strong enough to build fast-twitch muscle fiber required to jump explosively to the hoop.

I believe you can't skip rest after heavy exercise like this to build the muscle so let's trust the Rockets personnel they know what they're doing.-----------------

Man I'm so disappointed in Lin's outside shooting this year. He's been missing left or missing short... it's been a disaster. He doesn't need to do explosive stuff. When he gets the ball at the 3 pt line and he's open, you don't need explosive stuff to put the ball in the basket.

Well, I don't blame him for wanting to regain his explosiveness because his game is predicated on being able to attack the rim at any time and when defense overcommits and give him to much space, he can shoot with ease. He would definitely have more playmaking designed for him if he can finish consistently.

Even during Linsanity period, he never relied on being a spot-up 3PT shooter. Perhaps he can revamp his shooting mechanics in a few years to be a consistent shooter.

Lin's shot, though, needs work. But if he can continue hitting shots in games, there's no need for him to change anything. I've been Doc Scheppler's biggest critic, but I'll also be his biggest supporter if Lin continues to shoot better.

There is no way in h.ell that Josh Fan is a real professional trainer. I know he's one of LIn's closest friends but why on earth would Lin let someone his age, with little to no experience be one his trainers? It makes no sense. I know that Houston Chronicles' Jonthan Feigen said that Josh was Lin's trainer but I think he's more like Lin's ball boy - keeps him company, shoots at night with, friend.

I know that Lin works extremely hard but I hope he seriously considers getting real/professional trainers/shooting coaches in the off season.

Josh is Lin's roommate too. I really think Josh is just Lin's friend/ball boy and not an experienced, professional trainer.

I know Lin said he had 4 trainers (shooting/skills/athletic training etc...) over the summer...I hope Josh Fan wasn't one of them. But he probably was, I remember seeing videos of him "training" Lin in Aisa. I was kind of disappointed in what I saw.

U say it all. Agree . People keep saying 25 games are not enough to show his skills n quality and yet use his 12 games To judge him completely! Hate it! But anyway, my big blessing to coach's family. You can't imagine how hard it is to lose someone in ur family.

Oh, this is America where Asian Americans like Lin will NEVER be acceptable in the media.

It wouldn't matter what Lin does. The American media will not just flame Lin, they'll also flame his followers specifically US.

The majority of real basketball fans of all colors know that Lin is the real deal and will have a long and successful career. Only the diehard racist fans insist that Lin doesn't belong in the NBA, but they're the minority.

Dont be so pessimistic KHuang. We all know that most americans are good people. Think about the first Linsanity game. After the game the audience kept applauding for Lin - white folks, black folks, asian folks - they didnt care how he looked like. Thats america.

Take the MMA and UFC fights. Whenever Cung Le (beautyful knock out against Rich Franklin in Macau btw) is fighting, people (white folks and black folks and hispanic folks) would even wear the old vietnamese flag - just to show support for Cung Le. The anouncers are all on fire when he fights.

So - yes - there are stereotypes out there and too many people cling on to them because they are ignorant. Thats sometimes results in racist behavior - true. But - lets not paint the devil onto the wall - lets do something to change the status quo. What can asian americans do to change the situation? Keep working hard, keep shining! You guys gotta make it - get a job in the media! At some point even the most ignorant folks will understand that their bla bla bla makes no sense.

The media of course is a case of its own. We all know that only controversy sells. With headlines like "JLin AOK" they cant sell anything. Take fox news. Fox news is the most ridiculous channel on the globe. I (who is not american) even know that. People all over the world laugh at americans because they watch fox news. And yet - there is no way that the hosts on fox news believe the crap that they are telling. Same with the viewers. And yet -> take a look at their revenue...

There's nothing we Lin fans can do to change the negative press fired toward Jeremy Lin because he is Asian American.

Anti Asian haterade in the media has been around for over 100 years in American culture. It won't change anytime soon and may even get WORSE.

Fortunately, the roar of audiences speaks louder than the racism of the media. Lin is winning the REAL hearts of people, though the racist American media will try its hardest to flame not just Lin but his fans.

For example, I read an article in NJ.com that suggested that Lin was on OKCupid trolling for foreign brides. DESPICABLE.

The difference in Jeremy's situation is that he's in a sport/league dominated by blacks where asians are seen as outsiders. Even whites face some prejudice in basketball, always labeled as being unathletic.

With MMA asians are accepted or appreciated because martial arts is in the realm of asian stereotypes, so asians "belong" in the sport.

Anytime someone goes against societal or stereotypical norms you can expect the same kind of backlash.

I'm Korean and I got the same kind of racist treatment when I used to sing in a death metal band. I got heckled on stage and was told to "stick to math." It's just something that comes with the territory, and the way to shut the haters up is to excel in what you're doing.

Frankly, if Lin was dominating and everybody still wasn't giving him his due, I'd be the first to call out racism. But seriously, he's been playing like a scrub and that's the honest to goodness truth.

To add to MrScrewup's response, the reason no one is complaining of Dragic's contract is because he's backing up the money he got with his stats. In this sense, I disagree with Jeff Yang's point, although I did mention that the reason why Lin gets a lot of good and bad attention is because he happens to be the only Asian-American player in NBA. If there were right now around 5 Asian-American players, Lin would not be getting this level of attention. I am hopeful that Lin has inspired enough of younger Asian-American players who will even be better than Lin. In some sense, I am taking a longer view time wise.

It seems to me that Lin's release in his jump shot comes almost near the top, whereas other good shooters "appear" to my eyes that they release their shoots at the beginning part of the jump. It seems like Lin's shots depend more on his getting his legs under the shot, but it seems to me that although the legs should play a role, it should not be to a degree where weaker knees should adversely affect shooting. It seems like his shooting form has to be near "perfect" for him for his shots to go in, and as a result, less percentage of them go in. Perhaps more knowledgeable people can comment.

What's wrong with his shot is his fundamentals stink. He needs to eliminate all the things that go towards the variance between each shot attempt. Basically, his leg kicks, his elbows flailing, his cupping the ball towards the right side of his head, etc. Too many bad habits that factor in to unsustainable repeatability. The picture perfect shot is one that is balanced, squared, centered and each shot looks the same from one attempt to the next. With Lin, sometimes his jump is too high, sometimes he's leaning to one side, sometimes his legs kick a little, his elbows flail a little, etc. Frankly, all I can hope for him is just what others have mentioned already... he needs to get a professional shooting coach who will work with him everyday during the season.

If his fundamentals stink, then it's going to be tough to change; that is why I said it may take 2 to 3 years for Lin to become an offensive weapon. He ain't Michael Jordan who can, even if his long jump shots are not working, can do post up moves, etc. When I see Lin's jump shots, he sort of makes a rolling motion when he takes back the ball and then let's it fly at the top of his head, but that's very hard to do when you are jumping up. Really, a big percentage of control should come from your stable elbow and wrist flick and follow through, with legs providing some momentum on very long jumpers. When I look at Lin shoot, he jumps up unnecessarily, as if he's some grasshopper. You should only shoot like that when you are doing post-up moves.

Read the interview with his shooting coach and learn a little bit. If you remember, the release of the ball starts after his jump so the release occurs at the peak. The goal was to make him jump quicker,but not as high. Watch Ray Allen, JJ Redick, Kyle Korver, Kevin Durant, and thats the perfect rhythm a shooter should have. He described the changes he made in his shot in terms of release, rhythm, and balance.Jeremy needs to work on his shooting form every day to reinforce proper arc angle,consistent rhythm, and NO FRICKIN FADEaWAYS.When he's proactive with this he won't be Hoping they go in, he'll be knowing they'll go in.

I"m confused, he says in the video he dunked when he was in middle school. But as a freshman in high school...he was 5'3. What the hell?! no 5'3 dude could dunk. That's like 50 inch vertical. Maybe he meant a middle school hoop that's 8 or maybe 9 ft tall?

Lin's game is one that has been analyzed as much as anyone's in the NBA over the last 12 months, as he continues to be one of the most fascinating players in the league today.

Though Lin helped his new team blow by his old team on Friday as Houston blew out New York 131-103, he clearly isn't the same offensive threat that he was when Linsanity peaked last February.

Omar Shaik of HoopData.com wrote on Friday that one of the biggest reasons for this is the sudden disappearance of Lin's jump shot:

"Last season, Lin ranked in the NBA's top seven among point guards in field goal percentage from 10 to 15 feet and 16 to 23 feet. He was more accurate from these distances than many household names, such as Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Derrick Rose, and Russell Westbrook. He demonstrated a jump shot that deserved to be respected, and teams adjusted accordingly."

Through the Rockets' first 12 games this season, Lin is shooting 16.7 percent from shots in the 10- to 15-foot range, and 29.4 percent on attempts from the 16- to 23-foot range. Those numbers are, to put it mildly, not good. Most worrisome, defenses will adjust and limit Lin's ability to penetrate as they back off, knowing his shooting is so suspect.

It probably won't be until Lin plays another season or two until we can safely say whether the real Lin is closer to the guy we saw last season with the Knicks or the one who's struggling to find the net this season with the Rockets. But you can bet that won't stop the conversation on the topic between now and then.

Lin also shot more 3 pointers and much less mid range shots this year. I think even the % doesn't look good now he should shoot more mid range if those shots are open and that will open up the other parts of his game.

I read somewhere that the Rockets team as a whole depend too much on 3 point shooting and neglect the mid range part. The so called advanced stats approach is quite messed up. By %, it looks like 33% of 3 pointers is equal to 50% of 2 pointers but misses of 3 pointers usually lead to long rebounds which lead to fast break opportunities for other teams too. Usually good defensive teams gear opponents to take those mid range jumpers. I don't think Lin and the Rockets should just abandon them, but rather master them and especially take them when left open, better than forcing a drive or shooting a guarded 3 pointer.

Jason Kidd is the real leader on that team. He is the only one who Melo respects and can say no to Melo iso. I think they missed him tonight. But it remains to be seen if Kidd's age and health can hold up him to a whole season and playoffs.

nets are not lowly, they have deron williams with good teammates. But if ur comparing them to Miami i guess ur right. It must have suck for felton that he wasnt able to impress. And yeah the Knicks fans want to crucify him right now. Jkidd does make the difference not felton. Its just obvious in this game.

@neph, I thought Felton scored quite a few points when Lin wasn't guarding him? Just because you score a couple more points (what, 3 or 4?!) and easy asts to Melo doesn't mean he outplayed Lin. Lin's team won and Lin PLAYED WITHIN THE FLOW OF HIS TEAM'S OFFENSE. Felton did NOT play within the flow of his team's offense. He was atrocious the 1st half and kinda f.ucked the flow of his team's offense the rest of the game.

What's happening is that Lin, Knight, and DWill showed us how overrated Felton's "bulldog" D is. He couldn't keep in front those guys. Do you know how bad the Knicks' perimeter D has been? Yea, i know Shump's out but when the Knicks signed Felton, EVERYONE was talking about how great he was on D and that he'd be able to pick up the slack while Shump was out. So far, I haven't seen much of this awesome "bulldog" D.

I don't hate Felton but let's not act like the extra 3-4pts and assists (did you notice that Felton gets to be the primary PG while Lin has to share 70% of that duty with Harden, thus decreasing his asts?!) means that he's a better PG than Lin. Give it a season before we decide who's better.

@via, throughout Felton's career, people have called him a chucker. Unselfish players aren't known as "chuckers".

I take JR's words with a grain of salt. Last year, Shump and Tyson said that Lin had a "big heart" and "he was all about the team". Does that sound like someone who is selfish? You kinda have to take everyone's words with a grain of salt.

all your comments are awesome. and felton is a joke and you're right. his stats are padded because he has a future hall of famer to dump the ball off to and a beast in chandler to clean up his point blank misses at the rim. Knicks will fall sub .500 at least once before the all star break. mark my words.